Instructions
One of the defining elements of Italy’s cuisine is its heritage. From Piedmont to Sicily you’ll find ancient dishes that have been cooked for thousands of years. It’s true that their local variations may evolve over time, but the foundational principles of freshness, seasonality and simplicity are still its defining rules.
But a healthy regard for history doesn’t mean that culture stops. In fact, Italian food is still evolving today – the arrival of Asian restaurants in just the last decade has begun to transform Italy’s sense of what is edible.
Yet remarkably some of Italy’s most famous dishes are more contemporary than they may appear. In the world of pasta, Bolognese, puttanesca, boscaiola and amatriciana are all traditional sauces, with records of their preparation stretching back centuries. Yet their culinary cousin, the carbonara, is just about to celebrate its sixtieth birthday.
Italy suffered badly during World War II. Not only were its best resources drawn away from the nation to fight an unwinnable war, but the devastation wreaked upon the land during the Allied invasion left farmlands in an impoverished state, and many Italians went hungry.
The American troops, however, suffered no such shortages of rations. With the Atlantic naval war in decline, supply ships were streaming from the USA packed with a range of ingredients, including masses of eggs, bacon and butter – the GIs were not going to starve. A lucrative black market in American ingredients quickly started, and before long a small restaurant called Carbonara (The Coal Miners Restaurant) in Rome had concocted a brand new recipe – spaghetti served with a sauce of bacon, garlic, onions, butter and pecorino, all thickened with a couple of egg yolks. In 1944, this was pure luxury!
The fad took off, and in a short space of time the dish had gained popularity with the occupying soldiers who frequented Rome’s eating-houses. At the war’s end, as these troops headed back to New York, New Jersey, and myriad other towns in America, they took the idea of this dish with them. By the 1950’s carbonara had become an American-Italian staple, and was included in Elizabeth David’s seminal 1954 cookbook ‘Italian Food’.
Since then variations have appeared, including versions that contain cream. For the record, this is a serious no-no for any carbonara aficionado as the egg yolks and cheese provide more than enough richness. And the addition of vegetables for colour is similarly unnecessary – the plainness of carbonara is its chief attribute.
So, carbonara is the new kid in the kitchen? That’s fine. One day lost in history someone made the first lasagna, then first ravioli, the first gelato. A dish’s place in culinary history doesn’t depend on when it arrives, but on how long its hangs around. And I’d bet we’ll be eating carbonara for a while yet!
Spaghetti Carbonara